The present invention relates to a universal coupling means for linking processing systems incorporating at least computers or processors, with at least one peripheral unit. It applies more particularly to multicomputer systems in which it is necessary to exchange information between the memories of several processing systems and one or more peripheral units, such as e.g. magnetic tape or disks readers.
In general terms, a processing system is a logic processing unit, which can have one or more processors or computers, optionally realized with the aid of microprocessors and input-output units and optionally peripheral units.
Coupling means are known making it possible to manage information exchanges between several processing systems and at least one peripheral unit. In general, these coupling means are designed as a function of each type of peripheral unit to be linked with several processing systems. Thus, the connection of another type of peripheral unit makes it necessary for the user to have a new coupling device adapted to the new peripheral unit chosen. This impossibility of rendering commonplace the connection of random peripheral unit types in a multicomputer system leads to very long connection delays, high costs for each coupling of a new peripheral unit, a number of different coupling devices for the same multicomputer system and difficult choices with respect to the peripheral unit.